CONAN THE BARBARIAN
Blackman and McCain Rewriting "CONAN" Script
Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain have been hired to rework the script for "CONAN" for Lionsgate.The writing team's action-adventure screenplay Amazon, an epic about female warriors to which Scarlett Johansson has been attached, is sailing out of turnaround toward Lionsgate as well, with Neal Moritz and his Original Film coming on to produce once the deal is completed.
The Hollywood Reporter says director searches are under way for both.
CEO and president of Paradox Entertainment Fredrik Malmberg is producing the Conan feature along with Boaz Davidson, Joe Gatta and Avi Lerner of Millennium Films.
Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara) wrote earlier drafts of the film, a potential resurrection of the classic warrior created by Robert E. Howard. In 1982, Oliver Stone and John Milius wrote an adaptation, which Milius also directed, that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The writers have gone back to Howard's original stories to create a $100 million R-rated origin film, the largest production to date for Lionsgate and Millennium.
"Fans expect (these types of movies) to be more true to the source material," Malmberg said. "There's no reason there couldn't be a Conan movie every two years. He's almost like Batman: He's a dark hero. He's a hard hero. He has to be badass, but we also have to like him."
Synopsis : Cimmerian barbarian Conan has risen through the ranks of the nation of Aquilonia during its wars with the Picts and the Hyrkanians, earning Emperor Fortuna's trust enough to be named king of the land of Zingara, though Fortuna keeps Conan's adopted son Kon in his custody as collateral so that Conan will remain faithful to him.
As twenty years pass, and Kon becomes a man educated and trained in the ways of Aquilonia. When Conan invokes the anger of Aquilonia by making peace with the Picts whom he had once helped Aquilonia conquer, an assassination attempt is made against him. Conan, however, escapes, finding the warrior spirit that 20 years on the throne had dulled.
Taken in by the Picts, can Conan exact revenge against the Aquilonians and reunite with his son, who has now taken his father's place as the king of Zingara, and after twenty years, does Kon want to reunite with a father he hardly remembers ?
US Release : 2011-08-19
Source : comingsoon.net / mad-movies.com
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